“Cheddar Isn’t Always Cheese”
Quilts from the collection of
Carol Butzke
April 25 – July 8 at the
Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts
Whether you call it pumpkin, tangerine, mango or cheddar once again ORANGE is the new sizzling accent color for contemporary decorating color palettes for the coming year.
We are not the only ones to discover orange. For centuries, we have tried to incorporate orange into our garments and living spaces. Mineral and madder oranges became increasingly fashionable in the 3rd quarter of the 19th century and reached a zenith of popularity in the 4th quarter of the 19 century.
Come explore the Carol Butzke Collection of antique quilts incorporating orange and enjoy how quilters integrated this lively color in their special quilts.
Image:
“Lady of the Lake” artist unknown, circa 1890, hand pieced and quilted, 76” x 96”, likely from Pennsylvania
“The key to a great scrap quilt pattern is to have a constant to control the chaos and provide a place to rest one’s eyes. What makes this scrap quilt sing is the graphic use of orange and mahongany/ox blood.
The backing of this quilt is a brown and tan decorator print with an Oriental feel. In this era, things Asian were popular, a result of the Japanese Pavilion at the 1876 Philadelphia Exposition and the popular 1885 Gilbert And Sullivan comic opera, The Mikado.